“The ethos of the company is to add value to everything we do. We are returning to what we're really good at - Petty Wood as an innovator. We want to get back to being passionate about the food we sell, passionate about the brands we represent and innovate in all the markets in which we operate.”

John Potter, CEO - Petty Wood

Over 200 years of innovation

2016 marked a significant historic milestone for Petty Wood as it celebrated 200 years of trading within the UK food and drink industry.

To put that into context, it first started trading one year after the Battle of Waterloo and over 65 years before Marks & Spencer opened their first Bazaar in Leeds!

From the very beginning the business model created by Mr Petty and Mr Wood was built on growth through innovation. During the 19th century the Wood Family took control of the business and made significant investments in building a purpose built distribution centre at Southwark Bridge Road, in the heart of London. Here they procured products from around the world such as tea, dried fruits, cereals and spices, which they supplied to manufacturers and retail customers.

During the 1890s the company became a pioneer for the packaged grocery trade, investing in vehicles with combustion engines rather than horse drawn carts. It became one of the first companies to repack bulk goods into small parcels for sales through retail shops. In 1891 they even launched their own brand called Epicure, which is still going strong today and has itself celebrated its 125-year anniversary.

For the past 50 years Petty Wood has used this strong heritage platform to attract some of the most famous and globally recognised brands to work with. Brands such as Walkers Shortbread, Werther’s Originals, Bendicks, Weight Watchers, Baxters, Canderel and Lavazza have all partnered with Petty Wood for many years to drive sales using Petty Wood's comprehensive multi-channel market coverage.

In recent years the company has broadened the portfolio and introduced a number of challenger brands that bring exciting innovation to the market. Often successful in their own country or sometimes, new start up innovators, these challenger brands see the value in tapping into Petty Wood's significant infrastructure and sales and marketing expertise.

Petty Wood continues to provide brands with an unrivalled cost effective route to market and allows retailers to effectively access the tried and tested brands that they know and love, as well as innovative new product development through a consolidated supply chain. This helps to differentiate the range offered to customers and drive increased value and profit in core categories.

Building brands for tomorrow...

This year there is some exciting new innovation coming into the business particularly in the areas of 'World Food' and also in 'Confectionery and Snacks'.

The Geeta’s brand is an exciting addition to the Petty Wood Portfolio and has become well-established category leader with their award-winning chutneys and cooking sauces. Petty Wood’s customer reach and complimentary brands will take the success of this brand to new levels.

Urban Noodle continues to go from strength to strength and is not only proving to be a winner throughout the Independent Retail trade but is also performing incredibly well in J Sainsbury, Tesco and ASDA. Exciting new flavour variants are planned for this year to ensure the brand is at the forefront of what is trending.

Since joining Petty Wood earlier in the year Hildon Water have been awarded a Royal Warrant and Walkers, a long standing brand partner, have received their second Royal Warrant for their remarkable shortbread.

Epic Snax has already stolen the show at a number of trade events this year with the launch of Giant Toastin’ Mallows leading the charge. The factory is working flat out to fulfil demand and that is before the major Tesco launch in August. A tranche of new product launches are planned throughout the year with first up being milk and white Dippin’ chocolate. Epic!

Late summer will also see the launch of ‘Knoppers’ in the UK following on from the success of the brand in mainland Europe.

Petty Wood continue to introduce initiatives to drive growth through it’s independent retail customers. This summer it will be even easier to trade with Petty Wood as it unveils it’s new on-line trade site. The Company will operate a two tier pricing structure with Standard Customers being able to purchase as little as £100 per order (£200 if glass is included) and Select Customers who order £500 or more will receive 5% discount along with additional special promotions. In addition, Petty Wood offer new customers £2000 instant credit with no requirement for references.

Watch out for more exciting initiatives throughout the year!!

“Petty Wood ticked all the boxes; premium, good quality well trained staff, and a very good reputation and distribution base.”